Metrovacesa, Spain's largest property company, is struggling to sell a stake in the HSBC tower in London's Canary Wharf. The Madrid-based company, which faces EUR 7.1 bn in debt, is seeking to attract new investors for the trophy building but according to an article in the Financial Times on Thursday, Goldman Sachs, which was hired to advise on the sale process, has not been able to find any buyers.
Metrovacesa, Spain's largest property company, is struggling to sell a stake in the HSBC tower in London's Canary Wharf. The Madrid-based company, which faces EUR 7.1 bn in debt, is seeking to attract new investors for the trophy building but according to an article in the Financial Times on Thursday, Goldman Sachs, which was hired to advise on the sale process, has not been able to find any buyers.
Metrovacesa's £1.1 bn acquisition of the 45-storey tower - the largest single asset deal ever in the UK- was financed by a £810 mln short-term loan from HSBC that matures by the end of November. If Metrovacesa can't find the financing by then, HSBC could take control of the building or look for a third-party investor among its clients, the FT said.
Today the skyscraper is said to be worth around £800 mln, about 30% less than last year.
Earlier this week Gecina, the former French division of Metrovacesa, announced its board had proposed re-launching the share buyback programme that is crucial for the resumption of the planned demerger from Spanish Metrovacesa. The program was blocked by French financial regulator AMF last December.
